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SIPTU says overcrowding crisis is leading to ambulance service chaos
SIPTU representatives have today (Sunday, 5th January) said that the overcrowding crisis in emergency departments is causing chaos for ambulance professionals across the country.
SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell said: “SIPTU representatives are demanding that the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) take immediate and effective action to relieve the immense pressure being experienced by ambulance professionals across the country. At the end of November, SIPTU representatives requested that the HSE and Department of Health agree a protocol for the handover of patients at emergency departments. Unfortunately, our calls were ignored and now we have an unacceptable situation where our members are reporting delays in some cases of between three and a half and seven hours outside emergency departments as our now annual winter overcrowding crisis bites. It is outrageous that in 2020 Ireland patients are being treated in the loading bays of hospitals instead of hospital beds. This is not what quality patient care looks like, and this kind of chaos is starving communities of a safe and functioning ambulance service, particularly in areas of the west of Ireland and in the midlands.”
“While the HSE and Department of Health are responding to some areas of the overcrowding crisis, primarily by attempting to boost the number of beds available in hospitals there seems to be little consideration or emergency planning to make sure ambulances are kept on the road and readily available for communities. Over the weekend, we had the absurd situation where SIPTU members working a 12 hour shift in an ambulance base in County Clare were dispatched on a 901km roundtrip to Clonmel and back to Youghal due to local resources in being held up in Tipperary while ambulances from Kilkenny bases were dispatched to emergencies in Cork. This chaotic system is not only bad for patients and driving up ambulance waiting times it is also having detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of our members with many ambulance professionals continuously exposed to long shift over-runs and unsatisfactory rest and break times.”
He added: “SIPTU representatives have also written to the Director of Ambulance Services and representatives of the Department of Health to request an urgent meeting to highlight our members’ deep concerns and to seek assurances that all is being done to prevent this crisis from spilling into more communities.”
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Remembering Marian Finucane
SIPTU Health Division would like to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Marian Finucane, following the death of the broadcaster who made an immense contribution to journalism and women’s rights in Ireland.
Her contribution to broadcasting and journalism has been well acknowledged since her untimely death. However, Marian should also be remembered as a person who played a leading role for many years in the struggle of women for equality in Ireland.
In her long broadcasting career she provided a platform for those highlighting areas of discrimination against women in Ireland such as unequal pay and not being able to avail of contraception. Through her work, Marian Finucane helped bring about significant progress in Irish society during a crucial period of change.
Ar dheis dé go raibh anam
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Grace period for nurses and midwives retention fee confirmed
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) announced that it will accept payments in January for its Annual Retention Fee (ARF).
This grace period will allow extra time for Nurses and Midwives to pay an annual fee that is normally due on January 1st. Nurses and midwives practising in Ireland have a professional and legal responsibility to have their name on the Register of Nurses and Midwives which is maintained by the NMBI. This includes clinical practice, nursing/midwifery management, education and research.
Each year it is necessary for all nurses and midwives working in Ireland to pay their ARF to maintain their registration. Employers will normally seek a certificate from nurses and midwives at the start of each year.
For further information on payment please visit the Annual Retention Fee page on the NMBI website
For customer service queries, you can ring 1890 200 116 and for technical queries in relation to payment methods e.g. direct debit, you can email registration@nmbi.ie
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Podcast: SIPTU Ambulance Professionals planning national mobilising campaign
We want ambulance professionals to be recognised as health/social care workers, this is the next natural step but cannot come about with the co-operation of the Health Minister & Dept of Health…” – SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Paul Bell speaking this morning on LMFM with Michael Reade
Listen back here ↓
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SIPTU preparing to mobilise to win respect for ambulance professionals
SIPTU representatives have today (Wednesday, 1st January) said that members working in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) are planning a national mobilising campaign to win respect and recognition for all ambulance professionals in 2020.
SIPTU Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell, said: “Our members, across all grades in the NAS, are determined to secure greater recognition from the health employers including, if necessary, by taking a ballot for industrial action early in the new year. Our members are no longer “van” drivers. They have over a relatively short period of time developed into a highly skilled workforce with the ability to make key clinical decisions and to administer lifesaving medications to patients suffering trauma, cardiac arrest or stroke. That deserves to be recognised.”
“In 2017, SIPTU representatives engaged in a successful national industrial campaign to secure vital resources for our NAS members to do their jobs effectively and safely, including the purchase of a new ambulance fleet to serve the public.
In 2019, SIPTU representatives participated in a review of the skillsets of ambulance professionals with a specific focus on emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The findings of this review, due to be published in early 2020, are likely to confirm what SIPTU members already believe – that the role of all frontline ambulance professionals has evolved through education and training to the standard expected of health and social care professionals.”
He added: “It may shock the wider medical community, including the Minister for Health, Simon Harris and indeed the general public, that ambulance professionals are not regulated unlike nurses, midwives, radiographers, radiation therapists and physiotherapists yet they are responsible for administering up to 45 lifesaving drugs and making clinical decisions and in many cases are the first point of contact for patients. The regulation of ambulance professionals must be treated as a priority.
“As with other health and social care professions, regulation will protect patients, provide a mandatory framework for practice and make it an offence to impersonate staff members. It is well overdue. It may also shock those same actors that ambulance professionals have no recognised pay scale within the public sector consolidated pay scales. This is absolutely unacceptable and must be addressed once and for all.”
“Our members rightly feel that their time for recognition and respect is now and that the Government needs to engage on these issues and give them confidence that the future structure, viability and vision of our National Ambulance Service works for the many, not the few.”
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Health strike deferred to allow for talks tomorrow at WRC
SIPTU representatives have confirmed that a 24 hour workplace stoppage planned for tomorrow has been deferred pending the outcome of emergency talks at the WRC on the implementation of a job evaluation scheme.
SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Paul Bell, said: “The strike action scheduled for tomorrow is now deferred at the request of the Workplace Relations Commission. Discussions on implementation of the job evaluation scheme will commence tomorrow (Thursday, 20th June)and Friday (21st June)
He added: “Preparations for strike action for next Tuesday (June 25th) and Wednesday (June 26th)
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Video: New Ambition. New Direction
It has been an eventful year for our union which is ending on a very positive note.
The union is making a difference in improving the quality of the lives of our members through its effective industrial, organising and campaigning work.
Under the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), all SIPTU members working in the public health service, earning up to €30,000 will see an increase of 1% in their wages from January.
The pension levy threshold will also rise to €32,000, increasing pay by €325 a year for the majority of SIPTU members.
The deal, which was negotiated by SIPTU and other unions in 2017, will also deliver another 1.75% salary adjustment in September 2019.
Further pay restoration and another adjustment in the pension levy threshold are also due next year.
The PSSA will also see an end to the pension levy on any non-pensionable elements of public service incomes from January 2019.
Three significant changes to the public service ‘additional superannuation contribution,’ which replaced the so-called pension levy under the Public Service Stability Agreement, will also come into force on 1st January.
- First, the threshold for paying the levy will rise to €32,000, bringing a net improvement of €325 a year for most civil and public servants. Those who currently earn less than €30,000 a year, who do not benefit from this change, will instead get a 1% pay increase next month.
- Secondly, there’s a further boost for those who joined the public service after January 2013 and who are in the single public service pension scheme, which was introduced at that time. They will now pay only two-thirds of the additional contribution rate – a figure that will fall to one-third next year. This reflects the fact that the benefits of the single scheme are different from those in the older scheme.
- Thirdly, the contribution will no longer be payable on any non-pensionable elements of public service incomes from January 2019.
Earlier this year, SIPTU and other ICTU unions, also insisted on early measures to address the ‘new entrants’ pay issue even though, under the agreement, this was not bound to be dealt with until 2020 at the earliest.
The Public Service Committee of Congress also insisted that the Public Service Pay Commission started its work on recruitment and retention issues in the health service. Our submission can be read here
Non-pay provisions in the PSSA include strong protections against outsourcing and a fix on professional registration fees.
For Section 39 workers, €1000 in pay restoration will be paid from April 2019.
Payments will also be made in 2020 and 2021.
These proposals ensure that, after a long and hard fought campaign, our members working in Section 39 organisations will get full pay restoration.
It goes without saying that as a union we have a lot more to do to cover the lost ground suffered by many workers during the economic downturn.
However, we are on the right track and must continue to assert our rights as a movement to ensure fairness at work and justice in society.
Our collective success relies completely on the energy and commitment of the many thousands of SIPTU activists in workplaces across the country.
As we prepare for a New Year and new challenges we, together, can face them with confidence in the growing strength of our union.
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Application form
Email ask@siptuhealth.ie for a NEW APPLICATION FORM
SIPTU Health Division – when you sign up to SIPTU you can opt-in to receive SIPTU Rewards including:
€80 OFF Car Insurance*
– subject to a minimum premium of €334.65
€75 OFF Health Insurance**
€30 OFF Home Insurance***
– subject to a minimum premium of €279.92
Lowest price Life Insurance PLUS a 5% discount****
from the insurers we quote
Tax Return Service – no refund, no fee+
Terms & Conditions of SIPTU Rewards
To avail of these discounts, you must have signed up to SIPTU Rewards within 3 months of joining SIPTU on or after 04/10/18. The offers above are effective from 04/10/18, subject to change and are only available through certain Schemes. You must request a quote within 1 year of joining for car, home and health offers and these must be requested over the phone. Only one discount can be used with each eligible proposal. You can only avail of a Rewards / Advantages Programme once through Cornmarket. Discounts above must be requested at quotation stage and cannot be issued retrospectively.
*Only available to new Cornmarket Car Insurance Customers who are SIPTU Rewards members taking out car insurance through Cornmarket’s Nurses & Midwives’ Car Insurance Scheme underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited. €80 off subject to a minimum premium of €334.65. Actual discount is made up of €50 off plus an extra 10% off your premium. €50 discount available for existing Cornmarket Car Insurance Customers who join SIPTU Rewards (available at the next renewal date). Underwriter criteria, terms & conditions apply. Aviva Insurance Limited, trading as Aviva, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the U.K. and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.
**Savings based on waiving our administration fee.
***Only available to SIPTU members taking out an Aviva home insurance policy through Cornmarket. €30 off is based on the minimum premium of €279.92. Underwriter criteria, terms & conditions apply. Aviva Insurance Limited, trading as Aviva, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the U.K. and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.
****Lowest price Life Insurance based on the insurers we quote for, subject to a minimum premium of €15 per month. Lowest Pricematch offer is €13.13 per month for Mortgage Protection Plans and €15.00 per month on Level Term plans. We offer an additional 5% discount (where the premium is more than €15 per month). Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
† Cornmarket’s Tax Return Service is not a regulated financial product. This service is provided by Cornmarket Retail Trading Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd. Telephone calls may be recorded for quality control and training purposes. This service is available one year after joining SIPTU Rewards. If you would like them to claim a refund on your behalf, a fee of €45 plus 15% of your refund will apply – subject to a minimum refund of €51.75 (offer available to singly or jointly assessed PAYE income earners, who do not have any non-PAYE income and are not existing members of Cornmarket’s Tax Return Service.
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PRIVACY STATEMENT
Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) is committed to protecting and securing all of your personal information.
This Privacy statement is designed to ensure you are aware of the information we process about you including your rights in relation to it.
Who we are?
The data controller is SIPTU, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1
Contact: Data Protection Officer, SIPTU, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1. Email:dataprotection@siptu.ie
Purpose of Data Collection and Processing
As a general trade union we are member focused. To serve the members of the union we collect and process data for purposes including:
- To register you as a SIPTU member
- To meet the Objects and Rules of SIPTU
- To contact you about membership and trade union activities
- To represent you in individual and collective issues
- To provide membership services and benefits
- To comply with our legal obligations
Legal basis for processing your data
We rely on various legal bases for processing your personal data which include:
- Performance of our membership contract with you
- Compliance with our legal obligations
- In our legitimate interest
- Where you provide consent
How we share your personal data
We are committed to protecting and securing your personal data and we aim to ensure that all third-party providers are compliant with legislation and do not use your data for their own purposes unless they are controllers in their own right.
We may share your personal data from time to time with trusted third-party providers where required for business, legal and regulatory purposes.
With your consent we may share your personal data from time to time with professional and legal bodies in the interest of representing you.
Retention and deletion
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose(s) for which it was collected, taking into account all legal and contractual obligations. Where possible we will identify the duration for retention and, where this is not possible, we will explain the criteria for determining retention periods.
Once the retention period has concluded we shall safely and securely delete or destroy all personal data.
Your rights
You have the following rights and entitlements with regard to your personal data held by us:
- To enquire if we hold personal data on you and to access copies of that data
- To request rectification of personal data we hold on you
- To request erasure or restriction of processing of your personal data
- To withdraw consent at any time free of charge where we process your personal data based solely on your consent
- To have a copy of relevant personal data or request it is transferred to another data controller, where it is possible to do so
- To lodge a complaint in respect of processing of your personal data with the Data Protection Commissioners Office
We will aim to meet your requests and requirements relating to your rights, where possible. Requests should be directed in writing to the Data Protection Officer.
Requests under any of your rights will be free of charge where they are reasonable and not excessive. We reserve the right to request clarity in relation to determining the data under request, including to request proof of identity and signed authorisation in the case of third party requests. Furthermore, we reserve the right to refuse to comply where legal obligations restrict us from doing so and where requests are unreasonable or excessive.
Failure to provide personal data
We collect personal data to ensure we can represent our diverse member base in its entirety and to fulfil our responsibilities to our members within the Rules of the Union. Failure to provide us with the required personal data, on request, may limit our ability to represent you.
We rely on you to ensure the data we hold is accurate and up to date by communicating to us any changes to your personal information. Such updates can be made by contacting retention@siptu.ie
Profiling and automated decision making
We do not use profiling or automated decision making on any of the personal data we hold.
Transmission to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
We may transfer your personal data to service providers outside the EEA. In such cases, we will ensure the data is carefully managed in accordance with applicable data protection law.
Updates and further processing
We will make changes to this notice from time to time. Any such changes can be viewed on our website at www.siptu.ie/privacystatement
We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was provided. If we need to use your personal data for alternative purposes, we will notify you and explain our legal basis for doing so.
